Friday, August 20, 2010

As part of the "Talk to TSA" initiative TSA reviews the questions and comments that come in and we plan to use the TSA blog to address some of the more common themes we are seeing - both the favorable and not so favorable. Security is a shared responsibility and we are always looking to hear from you. ‪

In reviewing the last few weeks worth of submissions, one issue that came up consistently was the acceptance of different forms of ID at security checkpoints.

TSA officers see hundreds of different IDs at the checkpoints and it is their job to ensure they are legitimate and valid. There are more than 1.7 million maritime workers and truck drivers that have been thoroughly vetted and received a biometric card called a Transportation Worker Identification Credential, commonly known as a TWIC card. It is an important layer of maritime security, and because it is a valid government ID, TWIC is listed as one of the forms of accepted ID at airport security checkpoints.

There seems to be a trend of TSO’s not recognizing TWIC cards at our checkpoints. As a result of your feedback, I will ensure that TSA officers receive the necessary refresher training to recognize TWIC cards and other government-issued ID's (Including NEXUS cards) brought to the checkpoint.

Thank you for raising this issue so we can improve our security screening process moving forward.

64 comments:

"TSA officers see hundreds of different IDs at the checkpoints and it is their job to ensure they are legitimate and valid."

Why is this part of TSA's job? Given that you screen everyone getting on an airplane, what possible difference does it make whether they have an ID or not? We have asked your agency to explain why it thinks ID has anything to do with security many times on this blog, but your agency has never been able to articulate a reason for its ID obsession.

Note to TSOs: On the hit British Sci-Fi show "Doctor Who," the Doctor is often seen to wave around a device called a "sonic screwdriver," that has a little blue light at the end. This device allows him to do accomplish whatever is narratively convenient: picking locks, hacking computers, sensing lifeforms etc.

Please note that your little blue flashlights are NOT sonic screwdrivers, and you aren't 900-year-old Timelords. You're not fooling anyone with your little blue flashlight. Yes some things fluoresce under UV light, but (a) uv inks are really easy to score, and (b) when you wave it over an unfamiliar document, like a driving license from a distant state or a foreign passport, the fact that you don't see fluorescence is interpreted as meaning the document doesn't offer that "security feature."

So basically it's just security theater. And we're not buying it. Just stop already.

TSA's mobile phone application states, "All passengers 18 and over will need one of the following to go through security," then lists 10 forms of government-issued identity credentials. Isn't it true that "showing ID" is optional, and simply earns passengers a less-thorough search of their belongings and avoidance of extra questioning?

I believe it when it really happens and there aren't almost daily reports of IDs being rejected.

I have had tsa employees reject and refuse to accept ( with a slew of excuses and lies as to why-- including supervisors(2and 3 stripers)) my twic, and ndms IDs which are valid government despite the fact that there issued by dhs and one of them has a clearance level associated with it. Which is something >95% of tsa employees don't have or would qualify for.

Furthermore I don't buy the schlock of "ID matters" as your employees aren't comparing it against any of " the lists"s or Other databases as we very well know that they dint have the names pictures or bio data of people on "the list"s. Let alone the ID book.. So I'll ask for the centillionth time why. If a person doesn't have any WEI then let them go and quit wasting there time with needless haraSSSSment

Please explain to me how having an ID for each passenger makes for safety? Is this just for the sake of being silly? If checking passengers for contraband works, why look at IDs? What's the job of TSA?

You would be doing the American People, whom you swore to protect & serve, a great service if you would explain how presentation of a valid ID at an airport security checkpoint enhances civil aviation security.

I agree, it would behoove TSA to answer the questions regarding the necessity of checking IDs. If the purpose of airport screening is to ensure that nothing "bad" gets onto an airplane, then ID checking is irrelevant. However, if there is some "mission creep" occurring, and it's now TSA's responsibility to identify criminal activity with regard to ID forgery, or to identify potential illegal aliens, or to assist local law enforcement with finding wanted people, then TSA should at least be forthcoming with this information and let the taxpayers know what their tax dollars are actually buying.

@RB: "What security function of looking only for WEI is accomplished by looking at ID's?"

TSA is looking for the word "criminal" or "terrorist" imprinted on the ID. It can only be seen under UV light or a jeweler's loop. If neither of those words is present, then the person must be "ok" and is permitted to pass.

It's clear that you don't understand how this is just one of the 19 important layers, RB.

tsa took this over from the airlines, perhaps you should ask the airlines why they didnt want to continue to pay their subcontractors to do the job. im guessing its because they were losing quite a bit of money. so perhaps you should take this up with your airline. your id and boarding pass have always been asked for before why is it now a big deal that the tsa is doing it? as far as i know it isnt costing any more money on the tax payer just an additonal duty for the screener.

tsa took this over from the airlines, perhaps you should ask the airlines why they didnt want to continue to pay their subcontractors to do the job. im guessing its because they were losing quite a bit of money. so perhaps you should take this up with your airline. your id and boarding pass have always been asked for before why is it now a big deal that the tsa is doing it? as far as i know it isnt costing any more money on the tax payer just an additonal duty for the screener.

August 21, 2010 11:51 AM"

You just don't get it. The airlines established the ID rule in order to stop people from selling airline tickets which they had already purchased.

Are you old enough to remember college bulletin boards with 3x5 cards with text such as: "JFK - Miami Female $100.00" It was purely a business decision.

The airlines were more than happy to have the TSA invent a threat about presenting ID in order to enhance revenue protection.

The TSA seized the opportunity to use the ID check as a dragnet to find fake college IDs and other alleged crimes having nothing at all to do with civil aviation security. State and local cops loved this, because the TSA was doing that which they could not possibly do without a search warrant.

There have been to many reports that TSO's have refused to accept TWIC cards, passport cards and in some cases passports. Even when provided with the printout from the TSA's website on ID's there have been problems. What are you going to do if this problem continues once everyone has been retrained?

OK, a TSA employee is trained, someone signs off that they are fully qualified to do a certain task, such as looking at ID's and are placed in the position.

If these people demostrate they are not qualified then that suggest that supervisors have pencil whipped training records and those people should be held accountable in addition to retraining the worker.

Seems to be more of the same old problem of TSA employees not being held accountable for their actions.

Any TSO not recognizing a TWIC should be considered an extreme embarrassment for the TSA. An employee of a department not being able to recognize an identification ISSUED by the department they work for? But what should be a greater embarrassment for the TSA is the sheer number of TSO's who don't know that a "Offical" US Passport [Brown or Red cover] is a "real" passport. Train your people, or the TSA will continue being the butt of many jokes.

The ID requirement has been in place for over two years now. When it was first implemented, there were issues with TSA accepting Nexus cards. I can't understand why Nexus cards are still an issue.

A common refrain is that an ID gets rejected, and not because it's invalid, but because the document checker is not personally familiar with it. Their lack of knowledge is not the traveler's problem.

I don't see the big deal that document checkers have to deal with many flavors of government-issued ID. Have a binder of specimen copies of acceptable ID types (state driver's licenses, passports, TWIC's, Nexus cards, military ID's, etc., etc.) at the ID check station. If a document checker encounters an unfamiliar ID, they can look it up on the spot instead of inconveniencing the traveler. If the TSA wants to get high tech about it, have a computer at the document check station, and set the browser's home page to the TSA's ID requirements page.

Either way, -- problem solved. What's so difficult here? I learned about "if in doubt, look it up" at quite a young age. Dealing with unfamiliar ID's by "I don't recognize it, therefore it's not valid" is the height of arrogance.

This may be all well and good, but I am still trying to figure out why my Passport Card continues to cause me problems at airports. The Passport Card has been available for over two years now and I still get TSOs who tell me that they don't recognize it so it isn't valid.

Yes, a Passport Card is not valid solely because a TSO doesn't recognize it. When I tell them the TSA website lists it as a valid ID, they immediately tell me that the website must be out of date. They will do anything they can to support their own position.

Then, I have to demand a supervisor who will then allow me to proceed to screening. Of course, nothing is really said to the TSO and I am never given assurances that the TSO will be retrained.

If a TSO doesn't recognize an ID, he or she should either 1) immediately summon a supervisor or 2) look it up in their operations manual.

Frankly, any TSO that doesn't recognize a Passport Card has no business checking IDs at all.

My God people, is it really that hard for you to pull out a regular DL? Its probably right next to whatever other card you pulled out of your wallet. I suspect you just want to show off your fancy card to show what a big shot you are! Just pull out a licence so you can move on. Dont hold up the line, the rest of us have a plane to catch! Of course, you are probably the same one using every bin possible and not moving down the belt, putting your shoes on right at the place where the stuff comes out of the x-ray, just slowing up the whole works...didn't your mother teach you any manners? Get over yourself and move on.

Anonymous said... My God people, is it really that hard for you to pull out a regular DL? Its probably right next to whatever other card you pulled out of your wallet. I suspect you just want to show off your fancy card to show what a big shot you are! Just pull out a licence so you can move on. Dont hold up the line, the rest of us have a plane to catch! Of course, you are probably the same one using every bin possible and not moving down the belt, putting your shoes on right at the place where the stuff comes out of the x-ray, just slowing up the whole works...didn't your mother teach you any manners? Get over yourself and move on.

August 24, 2010 9:49 AM...............TSA defined acceptable ID's.

It is TSA's responsibility to train their employees to recognize the defined ID's.

Of course the better option would be to stop this ID nonsense seeing it adds nothing to security.

Anonymous wrote:My God people, is it really that hard for you to pull out a regular DL? Its probably right next to whatever other card you pulled out of your wallet. ... Get over yourself and move on.

Sigh.

Some people don't have DLs by choice or due to medical conditions. The more people (with and without DLs) who use alternate IDs, the less likely those who actually need to use alternate IDs (because they have no DL) are to be harassed.

Some people don't *want* to show their DL. My DL has my home address on it. If I were a TSO who aspired to be a thief, I would work as an ID-checker and memorize the home addresses of affluent-looking couples heading to vacation destinations. I also need my DL to rent a car or drive at my destination, while if I happen to lose my alternate ID (passport card) in the chaos of the checkpoint, my trip is not ruined.

Fortunately I have not gotten any hassle from TSA for using my passport card, though I haven't flown much this year. But I have heard horror stories, up to and including the traveler being handcuffed by police, for travelers who simply wanted to use an ID (nexus card) that TSA says is acceptable on their home page.

In reply to what you said, I will paraphrase you:

"My God TSOs, is it really that hard for you to follow the rules posted on your website? A picture of the alternate ID is probably right next the pictures of DLs on your little cheat sheet for acceptable IDs.

I suspect you just want to show off your fancy uniform and assert your authority to show what a big shot you are! Just accept the ID so you can move on to the next passenger. Dont hold up the line, passengers have a plane to catch! Of course, you are probably the same TSO barking at passengers to use fewer bins to make it easier for you to be lazy, causing shoes and jackets to get caught on the x-ray rollers and belts, just slowing up the whole works...didn't your mother teach you any manners? Get over yourself and move on."

Hey Anon, did you every think the reason people don't want to show ID is so if TSA wants to write information down (which they've been known to do) that they have as little information as possible? Or is what you think the only option?

Anonymous said... My God people, is it really that hard for you to pull out a regular DL?*******As someone who has a had multiple and ongoing problems with idnetity theft I avoid using my drivers license which has to much personal information. A passport and passport card do not and they are an acceptable form of ID>

Despite what TSA says a drivers license is not a IDit is a permit to operate a motor vechile. In some counties it is illegal to use your DL when asked for ID.

To the poster today at 9:49am. Well considering I may be on a disaster team deployment my twic or ndms card maybe the only thing I'm carrying on me and considering those are on TSAs list they should be accepted with out a problem; if there is a problem that employee the person that signed them off as well as the supervisor need to be decertified or terminated for not following policy and procedure. Considering that this is a core job competency issue if there failing at this what else are these government employees lacking in job competence.

But then again the question asked but never answered is why check ID at all since there not WEI and TSA isn't law enforcement and is just mission creep.

Anonymous whined on August 24, 2010 9:49 AM ... My God people, is it really that hard for you to pull out a regular DL? Its probably right next to whatever other card you pulled out of your wallet. I suspect you just want to show off your fancy card to show what a big shot you are! Just pull out a licence so you can move on. Get over yourself and move on.********************************While I don't presume to speak for everyone who has detailed the difficulties they have experienced due to inadequate training of screeners trying to verify various forms of ID, I can tell you that I have CHOSEN to use my passport following an incident w/screeners in BOS several years when when my DL mysteriously 'vanished' & just as mysteriously reappeared, according to a screener, in the ladies room past the checkpoint. Considering I hadn't been in it, I found that a very interesting turn of events.

While some would say no harm, the DL turned up, what if it hadn't & I needed to rent a car @ my destination? I would have had a big problem. So, you see, even if something were to happen to my passport, I still have my DL to fall back on. Most of us who chose to use other forms of ID @ the checkpoint are doing so for the same or similar reasons, not because we are trying to show off, as you assume.

However, while we're on the subject of re-training screeners to recognize valid IDs, perhaps the TSA could also include US passports w/B&W pictures in them. I find it hard to believe that I am the only person left in the entire country who has a black & white picture in their, valid, US Passport, but screeners nationwide have been perplexed by it for years. If it's good enough to get me into & out of this country, it ought to be good enough to get me thru a checkpoint.

No amount of IDs will help if a behavioral detection officer delivers the 'spectral evidence' of thought crimes as in Ms. Parker's case. Masqueraded as science, the program is supposed to identify potential enemies by their facial expression and body language. Whoever designed this program never played poker. The program is universally ridiculed, even by GAO. It would be a joke if it wasn't so dangerous.

Dude- You shouldnt stand next to a microwave or satellite dish while wearing your tinfoil hat. It really messes with your ability to think reasonably. On the plus side, your imagination gets a kick in the pants. :)

Glad to see you are still helping the airlines prevent people from reselling tickets. We wouldn't want those "terrorists" to "blow up" the airlines bottom line. Cancellations and resales are so much more profitable than letting people resell their tickets to each other!

In short, thank you for "protecting" from being able to recoup the costs of changed plans.

You going to have someone else pretend to blow up a fake device again soon so we can be adequately scared and unquestioning of your policies?

Let me know, that jock strap bomber was great. I think you guys took that one from my comments, I had been asking whether we were going to have to drop trou at the checkpoint after an incident like that... guess that wasn't your plan?

As long as the TSA can make changes randomly in order to combat 'teh terrerists', the fact that they have posted guidelines on the website becomes meaningless. If I show up with a valid passport and a TSA guy decides that I look nervous (mostly because TSA guys stole some of my belongings - but apparently my being nervous about that is my fault) and therefore he wants to check the dl, and I choose not to bring one, I'm out of luck.

One of my biggest pet peeves is the ridiculous "we have to be random" thing. I understand the theory, but it means you can never be sure and can never fully plan. And the random theory could be slippery-sloped into allowing all kinds of abuses. Normally you need a search warrant, but maybe sometimes we should let the police 'be random'. Normally you should have your rights explained to avoid self-incrimination, but maybe we should let that 'be random' sometimes.

TSA: Laws and rules should not be random. A rule that is random isn't a rule; it's a whim.

Dude- You shouldnt stand next to a microwave or satellite dish while wearing your tinfoil hat. It really messes with your ability to think reasonably. On the plus side, your imagination gets a kick in the pants. :)

August 25, 2010 12:17 PM"

I'd like you to enlighten me which of my remarks were imagined or were impaired by my inability to think reasonably.

chris boyce:You just don't get it. The airlines established the ID rule in order to stop people from selling airline tickets which they had already purchased.

so the tsa is doing the airlines jobs because most travelers print off etickets and dont check luggage and go right to security. their ids and etickets are checked by tsa. they then procede to their gate where they hand the eticket to the gate agent. so if it wasnt for tsa the id of the passenger would not have ids checked to make sure that they match the eticket. so a large percentage of passengers DO NOT have their ids and tickets checked by the airline. tsa is doing this for them. so even though;"Are you old enough to remember college bulletin boards with 3x5 cards with text such as: "JFK - Miami Female $100.00" It was purely a business decision."i am not old enough to remember this it is still relavant because it could still happen.

Quote from Anon: "so the tsa is doing the airlines jobs because most travelers print off etickets and dont check luggage and go right to security. their ids and etickets are checked by tsa. they then procede to their gate where they hand the eticket to the gate agent. so if it wasnt for tsa the id of the passenger would not have ids checked to make sure that they match the eticket. so a large percentage of passengers DO NOT have their ids and tickets checked by the airline. tsa is doing this for them."

So why are the tax payers paying for something that the airlines should be doing? We already know it doesn't add anything to security. Why should we give the airlines a service on our dime?

OK, Anonymous on August 26, 2010, at 7:07 PM: Here's a little history for you. I'm assuming they teach history these days and you view it as relevant.

Back in the days when passengers wore suits & dresses and flight attendants were called "stewardesses," the airfare structure was completely different than it is now. There were two tickets: first class and coach. They were completely refundable and, for the most part, the fares were regulated by the Civil Aeronautics Board. (The CAB no longer exists -- look it up.) You bought a ticket, checked your suitcase, and got on the plane. Since the price of a coach ticket from Idlewild International Airport to Mines Field (look the names up to find out what they are called today) cost the same, airlines competed on timeliness and quality of service. As long as the passenger had a ticket and paid their money, it didn't matter who you were.

The Airline Deregulation Act (Pub.L. 95-504) signed into law on October 24, 1978, changed all this. It removed government control over fares, routes most other aspects of the commercial aviation sector. The Civil Aeronautics Board's powers of regulation were phased out and it was eventually disbanded. Airlines had to compete with each other at all levels. They introduced advanced purchase and non-refundable fares, among other things, but had not invented an ID requirement to fly. Tickets had a person's name on them. But, they could be casually resold to anyone, even though the airlines said they were nontransferable and nonrefundable. Any female could use someone else's ticket if the name looked female and vice versa. The only way the airlines could enforce their refund and transferability policies was to ask the passenger to produce a photo ID so they could verify that the name on the ticket matched the name on the ID. Screening for weapons had been introduced by then, performed by contractors using standards set by the FAA Office of Civil Aviation Security. There was a minimal amount of counterterrorism and law enforcement activity placed upon ticket purchases, but, this was done judiciously and for real investigations targeted against specific individuals. (Part 1 of 2)

The TSA, when they rose from the swamp, latched on to the airlines' desire to protect revenue to turn this into a huge law enforcement dragnet having nothing at all to do with civil aviation security. Today, the airlines are gladly allowing the TSA to perform their revenue-protection program. There is a whole industry sprung up to charge people lots of money in exchange for pre-approval of their identify before flying.

The entire justification for the ID dragnet existing today where screeners pour over drivers licenses as if they were grading diamonds was stated by the famous Kip Hawley, "ID matters." The TSA has stated that it is their job to keep "terrorists" and "other criminals" off airplanes. Frankly, I don't care if I'm sitting next to an axe murderer as long as they have been screened for weapons to make sure their axe is in checked luggage. I don't care if I'm sitting next to the most notorious spy of the 21st Century. If I am sitting next to these people, they should be arrested using normal and lawful police procedures.

I don't care if the airline looks at my license to make sure I haven't defrauded them of their revenue. But, the federal government has no right to track my travel nor grant me permission to travel without due process of law. "ID matters" is a heck of a long way away from due process.

Dont get mad at the TSA officers...they are only following directives from management........TSA is a fake , a facade...illusion....the reason the officers seems unintelligent is only because they can not explain the idiocracy of TSA. Its a swell paying job thanks to the taxpayers.. and more power to each officer who holds a position as a civil service worker .

ID checks slow down the process of screening andat times weed out some petty criminals. In the end it's all about money. The Airlines continue to dictate to TSA policy.

Until the next serious event that changes how we fly daily..enjoy the show

As far as showing a driver's license goes, I am an expatriate and live outside the US. I no longer have a valid US driver's license. Next time I fly inside the US I'm going to show my Japanese driver's license and see what happens.

Do TSO's qualify as cognizant authorities as related to 8 C.F.R. § 287.8(b)(1)? If so, after presenting my identification, as issued by any authority recognized by US Federal Goverment, I may walk away without having to answer any further lines of interrogation as to my purpose. Please refer to United States v. Rodriguez-Franco, 749 F.2d 1555, 1560 (11th Cir. 1985), “An immigration officer, like any other person, has the right to ask questions of anyone as long as the immigration officerdoes not restrain the freedom of an individual, not under arrest, to walk away.". In the comments on this case, and the relevance of the 4th Ammendment (search and seizure) pertaining, it is apparent that an immigration officer does not have the authority to restrain, detain, or pursue further interrogation, of an individual who has presented valid documentation, thereby ascertaining their identity, without reasonable and articuable suspicion of wrong-doing.

In other words: Check my Identification, but do not ask me any questions that do not pertain to ascertaining my identity.

The TSA people do not GET the fact that in order to do their job it is not necessary to scream at passengers and harass, intimidate and threaten. Suddenly yelling a traveler because they felt uncomfortable with the body scanner or screaming at a passenger because they asked a question is NOT part of the TSA's job...and yes I am telling you how to do your jobs.

"I believe most of us would rather have a safe flight then not get searched. The TSA is here to protect us so lets all make their jobs easier. I have no problem being searched or scanned."I disagree and now prefer to drive many hours extra to avoid this unwarranted search and invasion of privacy. How many documented terror attempts have been stopped? How many incidents have slipped through? Now with suggestion of surgically implanted devices, when will we all be slowed down more to go thru X-Rays?As policy expands to trains, buses, sporting events, etc; how many hours before a football game will 10s of thousands need to arrive?And still, on the street, people do not need to provide documents to prove they are in this country legally. Worse is lack of requirement for valid ID for voting for the socialists that allow this to continue!!!Will my TWIC card (which cost me $150 and half a work day to obtain) speed me through this harassment? After all, I do have access to major and potentially vulnerable points of our infrastructure.

I am amazed so many don't see or know why ID's are checked at the airport. It's purpose is to verify the persons entering the secure part of the airport are whom they claim to be. Otherwise terrorists and fugitives could travel and move about under fake identities.

I'm a non-immigrant alien with a granted withholding of removal in 2007. I got my TWIC card approved in 2008 with my EAD (Employment Authorization Document) category a(10), last week I went to apply for a card renewal and I was not allow to do that, because they say that an EAD obtained by withholding of removal code a(10) is not included in the application form. Withholding of removal is similar if not exact to an Asylum, refugee or TPS status. I need to apply for a TWIC in order to obtain my card, or in case that TSA deny it, a letter for to appeal this desicion or in order to get a waiver. Without the TWIC I will not be able to keep my professional job. Could anybody please help me to figure this out?

You would be doing the American People, ve may bay whom you swore to protect & serve, a great service if you would explain how presentation of a valid ID at an airport security checkpoint enhances civil aviation security.

I don't work for the agency but I will be happy to explain it to you. How in the world can you vet someone for security purposes without first positively idenTifton them first? Did you really need that explained or did I somehow miss the point of your anonymous question?

I am a Travel Agent with a KTN, My husband has a TWIC. This past october we were on our way through the Airport and the and the TSA officer did not allow my husband through with his TWIC card or myself through with my known traveler number. He said he had no idea what a TWIC card was and because our children were with us, who are under 12 we had to wait in the longer line. Obviously this is still a problem. Traveling again Friday. Guess we will see if we get a more educated officer.

As far as I am aware a person has no obligation to produce ID to anyone (even law enforcement) unless they are being charged with a crime. It seems to me that this constitutional right would supercede any TSA ID requirements. Something to ponder next time you're at a checkpoint (in the U.S. Anyway). Just ask "are you law enforcement and am I being charged with a crime?"...if the answer is no, you have no obligation to produce ID.